Secret Santa
by myheartsegg
Summary: Tadashi, in an attempt to keep Hiro's "childhood innocence", had taken up the role of Santa Claus each year. Hiro's was not one to be fooled for long however, and when he found out, he wasn't mad. In fact, he was the opposite. When Tadashi asks the reason, all he gets is a vague reply. He'll have to find out the reason later. Much later. Hidashi one-shot.


**Whoops, sorry for weird writing style, I've been in a rut recently =u="**

**Also, ****SUPER late Christmas fic, but better late than never, right? Hahaha... (I'm so sorry OTL)**

* * *

**Secret Santa**

Tadashi was _not _a singer.

But when it came to Christmas songs, the older Hamada knew that he couldn't resist. Despite Hiro's complaints, Tadashi liked to belt out Christmas carols until the whole neighbourhood could hear him.

Sometimes Hiro questioned if it was actually in the name of Jesus Christ's birthday or if he purposely sang at the top of his lungs just because he wanted to annoy his younger brother.

"You better watch out, you better not cry!~ You better not pout, I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming to tooow-"

"That's so creepy," Hiro interrupted him mid note.

At the look that Tadashi gave him, the younger Hamada hastened to explain.

"I mean, c'mon bro. He watches you while you're sleeping? He _knows_ when you're awake? Seriously? It even says at the beginning of the verse that you better watch out!" Hiro gushed, arms flailing with each flaw he pointed out.

Tadashi's stink eye turned into a deadpan expression. "Hiro, it's a Christmas song."

Hiro scoffed. "Doesn't change the fact that it makes Santa a creeper."

"Says the one who believed in Santa 'till the fifth grade," his older brother shot back playfully, an eyebrow rising and smirk forming.

Hiro blushed from ear to ear in his seat by the computer. "I-! You're the one who dressed up as Santa each year!"

That much was true. Tadashi, in an attempt to keep Hiro's "childhood innocence", had taken up the role of Santa Claus each year. In the middle of the night, he would dress up in a Santa Claus suit and then place Hiro's gifts under the Lucky Cat Café's Christmas tree.

He would purposely make a lot of noise (Aunt Cass was in on the act, so she never bothered to come down to check up on things) to wake Hiro up, and when the kid had come down to the sight of Santa Claus, Tadashi would haul Hiro up onto his lap and ask him if he was a good boy.

The younger Hamada would always nod and ask if he had gotten any presents that year. And in every way, Tadashi used his position as Hiro's older brother and most trusted confidant to his advantage.

Hiro would never fail to tell him (Tadashi, not Santadashi) what he wanted most for Christmas – usually a new bot part or tool that he needed – and whenever Hiro would open his present from "Santa", he would squeal in delight and run to Tadashi the next morning to exclaim that he had got just what he wished for.

It was that look of utter delight and excitement that lit up Hiro's whole body that had Tadashi doing it again and again, year after year.

It was sort of addicting, in its own way.

Somewhere in the back of his head, Tadashi registered that his younger brother was a true and utter genius, and probably already knew that he was Santa Claus. Sometimes, he suspected that Hiro was just pretending to be excited. But that didn't change the fact that Tadashi wanted his brother to have as normal of a childhood as possible, no matter his position as a child prodigy.

Tadashi chuckled benignly at the memory. In his mind's eye, he could see a younger Hiro bouncing in his lap, eagerly telling his older brother about how he had woken up in the middle of the night and had met Santa again that year.

Of course, the act didn't last long.

One Christmas, Hiro had had the foresight through his excitement to wake up "Tadashi". Which, of all things, was a _pillow_ (the oldest trick in the book).

From there, Hiro had figured it out pretty quickly. But instead of having a falling-out – as expected by Tadashi – Hiro had played along until "Santa" had said he needed to go. Hiro had given the big (fake) stomach a hug and waddled off until he was standing by the banister.

Then he had turned around, given Santadashi an unnerving stare which soon dissolved into a mischievous smirk before he said, "Aren't you coming upstairs to go to sleep Nii-chan? It's past your bedtime. You wouldn't want Santa to put your name on the naughty list for next year, would you?"

Tadashi had gaped for a good minute in shock before recovering his wits and coughing awkwardly. Looked like the jig was up. "Haha, Hiro... I can explai-"

Tadashi had been cut off at that moment as a smaller body had flown into his, knocking out all the air in his lungs.

At first the older Hamada had panicked, thinking Hiro was attacking him for impersonating Santa and leading him on.

But giggles filtered through the momentary alarm and immediately Tadashi's rapid heartbeat fell back to a more regular pace. Hiro was chortling into his fake jolly stomach, letting loose little peals of laughter that to Tadashi, sounded like bells ringing.

"Hiro?" He had asked, unsure how to react.

His brother peeked up through the mass of white beard to look his brother straight in the eyes.

"Merry Christmas Nii-chan," Hiro said, burying his face back into the suit.

"You're not mad at me?" Tadashi asked, stunned.

Hiro rubbed his face into the belly and let out a negative snort. "Mm-hmf-hm mff-hmf-mm!" came the muffled reply.

Tadashi pulled Hiro away by the shoulders just enough so the kid could talk properly. "Say what now? Don't speak with your mouth full," the elder had said with a slight chuckle.

Hiro tipped his head back and laughed. "I _said_, Santa-san iranai. Anata wa boku no Santa, ne, Tadashi-nii?" (I don't need Santa. You're my Santa, right Tadashi?)

Tadashi stared at his brother, shocked for two reasons: one, Hiro had just suddenly switched languages on him, and two, that message meant what now?

Tadashi switched languages to match Hiro's string of conversation. "H-Honto? Boku wa anata no Santa?" (R-Really? I'm your Santa?) he asked incredulously.

Hiro nodded vigorously.

"N-nande?" (W-Why?)

The younger Hamada grinned widely and stuck his tongue out at his older brother. "Hi-mi-tsu! Ask me next year," (Se-cr-et!) Hiro said slyly, giggling slightly.

Tadashi ginned at the sound. "Alright then, I'll hold you to that promise."

* * *

"Hey, Tadashi?" Hiro asked, waving a hand in front of his older brother's face. "Bro, you're kinda freaking me out here."

Tadashi blinked back to the present. "Huh?"

The younger Hamada raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Dude, you alright? You were spacing out pretty hard there."

"Oh," the elder said distractedly. Hiro shook his head in exasperation, rolling his eyes as he sat down in his computer chair and swivelled back to the monitor.

That was right. Tadashi had forgotten to ask Hiro the year after that; his question had been left unanswered for almost four years now.

"Ne, Hiro," the older Hamada started, switching to Japanese automatically.

The addressed teen looked over his shoulder from where his attention was focused on his computer screen and furrowed his brows a bit. "Nn?" he hummed, tone confused at the sudden language change. It had been a while since they'd used their first language. "Nani, Nii-san?" (What is it?)

"Oboiteru? Ano yoru." ([Do you] remember? That night.)

Hiro squinted at him. "Dochi no yoru? Kinou no? Senshiyuu no?" (Which night? Yesterday's? Last week's?)

"Iie, sono yoru, younen mae." (No, that night, four years ago.)

The younger Hamada's face scrunched. "Eto... Younen mae? Gomen, oboeteinai." (Um... Four years ago? Sorry, [I] don't remember.)

Tadashi chuckled low under his breath and tilted his head the side to look at his sibling fondly. "Jyaa, kono shitsumon ni koteite. Watashi wa ima demo anata no Santa ka, Hiro?" (Then answer this question. Am I your Santa even now, Hiro?)

The teen's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he lurched forward in his seat, almost falling off if not for Tadashi's quick reflexes.

"_You still remember that?_" he practically shrieked.

The older of the two blinked in surprise. What was with that reaction?

"Uh, yeah?" he said hesitantly, grip tightening on Hiro's bicep to help him stand.

Hiro buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Nooo..."

Tadashi could see that his younger brother's ears were burning bright red.

"So, are you going to tell me or what?" he chuckled jokingly.

The younger Hamada peeked through the spaces between his fingers, a high blush managing to show through the parted appendages. He shook his head. "It's too late now, you should have asked me within the allotted time!"

"I forgot to, that's why I'm asking you now!" Tadashi defended, gripping both wrists in a attempt to gently pry his brother's hands away from his face.

"I... I just..." Hiro struggled to find the right words. Finally, he gave in with a sigh and allowed the older Hamada to uncover his face, the teen's eyes shifting to the side then to the floor in embarrassment.

"It's just that... You know-" the younger of the two shrugged his shoulders, head rolling to the side in a helpless gesture.

Tadashi chuckled and pulled on Hiro's wrists, wrapping his brother's arms behind his neck. Hiro automatically latched on, hands clasping together as Tadashi brought his own hands to grip at his brother's waist. "No, I don't know," he teased.

The teen blushed a lovely shade of crimson and buried his face into Tadashi's chest, mumbling incoherently. The elder Hamada chuckled, feeling a nostalgic sense of déjà vu.

"Say what now? Don't speak with your mouth full," he mock-scolded, tucking a finger under Hiro's chin and tilting his younger brother's face up just enough so he could see those wide brown eyes gazing at him endearingly.

Hiro's mouth twisted into a convoluted version of a grimace. "You... You just- you were always there, you know? Like, you- ugh, jeez!" Hiro knocked his head against Tadashi's collar bone, grunting subtly from the pain that bloomed on in his forehead. "This is so embarrassing," he mumbled into the elder's shirt.

A laugh left the older Hamada and he gazed fondly at his younger brother, mirth twinkling in his eyes. "I know it's embarrassing, that's why I'm asking," he said.

"Hey!" Hiro yelled, kicking at his brother's shins. The bright flush on his cheeks darkened, almost making his entire face red. The teen opened his mouth, prepared to fire off an insult - but was halted before a single syllable fell from his lips by ones that pressed against his own.

"Mmn," he moaned, startled by the way Tadashi pushed up against him, strong arms pulling him in closer by the hips. No sooner had Hiro's eyes fluttered shut before a pinch on his ass made him jump, a startled squeak leaving his throat.

"You-!" he sputtered incredulously. "That hurt," Hiro whined, petulant pout working its magic on his face.

Tadashi merely chuckled back, that infuriatingly perfect side grin he always had tugging at his lips. "You deserved it," he teased. "You were taking too long."

Hiro gave a sigh of resignation. "Fine," he said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll tell you."

Tugging his brother down so they were touching nose to nose, Hiro whispered, "I never needed a Santa because..."

The teen shifted, standing on his tiptoes so he could mouth at Tadashi's sensitive ears. "You were always _mine_."

A hot spark flew down the elder's spine, bringing on a wave of goose bumps in its wake. God, the way he had just whispered that last word...

Hiro pulled away so that Tadashi's hold on his waist was the only thing supporting him as he leaned back. There was a smouldering smirk in place that the older Hamada would have _loved_ to wipe off that smug face of his.

Before he had the chance to though, that dark gaze given to him from underneath even darker lashes turned soft, the smirk likewise curving up into a sugar-sweet smile that left Tadashi wondering if he'd get a cavity (never mind _eating_ Hiro – just that smile alone was enough to make his head spin).

"You were all I ever needed for Christmas." Hiro started, muttering softly. "It didn't matter if I got presents – not really. As long as I had you, I was content."

Tadashi felt his chest warm at the words.

"When I found out that you were actually Santa Claus, I was really happy. The person that I loved-" Hiro choked on the word, a beautiful blush crawling down his neck- "... _Loved_ the most was the same one who had shown me a world of magic every Christmas."

The teen looked to the side, embarrassed at the mushy, sentimental, touchy-feely admission. "All along," Hiro whispered, "you were always my Secret Santa."

Tadashi beamed at the confession. Hiro really was too cute for his own good. Looked like he would _really _have to show the teen a night of... _magic_ for Christmas this year.

"Then, for one more year," Tadashi said, sweeping his younger brother off his feet in a bridal hold. The younger squeaked as he was tossed onto his bed and a body smothered his in a warm embrace. "I'll be your secret Santa."

* * *

Oopsies, did I fool you? No smut for this, sorry~

(P.S. Apologies for bad Japanese, writing, OOC and all that jazz)


End file.
